Tricksters and Trials
by Tingcat
Summary: Loki/OC. Set after Avengers Assemble. Rating will go up. Summary is bad, I know. Loki escaped from his supposed transportation to Asgard. That much is obvious. After coming so close to succeeding before, the Avengers see no choice but to stop him before his next scheme comes to fruition. But with another devious, new personality thrown into the mix, will they still succeed?


**Well, this is my first fan fiction, so go easy. Rating will change. Don't know what else to say.**

**There's also thematic music.**

**Only the OC is mine, the rest is Marvel's, or whoever owns the music. Enjoy!  
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Music: watch?v=aLpKs1XdNcE&

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Nick Fury was an imposing man, standing at the end of the table and looking over the Avengers.

But then again, the Avengers themselves were imposing. That is, if everyone except Thor wasn't dressed in T-shirts, jeans and pyjamas at 3AM.

"Odinson, do you even know how your _brother_ escaped? S.H.I.E.L.D. would benefit from knowing why he escaped even your Asgardian technology."

Thor stared at the table, at the piece of paper in front of him. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. intranet article detailing their victory last week, and the destruction that had gripped New York City. It featured a picture of him and Loki, holding the tesseract a few minutes before they were supposed to leave for Asgard. It was fair to say that it puzzled the God of Thunder, and made him much more… upset, even.

"…No, I do not. I am sorry."

Fury didn't dwell on that point. The group had always taken him for one that got business done quickly.

"How much chance is there that Loki remains on Earth, here and now?"

"That is something that is most likely true. The tesseract disappeared with my Loki- my brother. He'll want to try again after he's planned ahead." Stark butted in.

"He wants his ass kicked again?" Of course. Even tired and weary, Stark was still the one that made the comments, though he didn't smile with it. Fury looked over to him, his own expression hard and unchanging.

No-one was in the mood for that kind of comment. They all knew how close Loki had actually come to succeeding; how far he had gone before they managed to stop him.

"It would seem that way, Tony Stark. Since we have no way of knowing his location, we can only wait and prepare, despite the fact so much should be happening. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on alert and ready to respond and deal with the threat. Oh, and be discreet. We don't want NYC half-destroyed again, and the world _does not_ need to see another alien attack." And with that, Nick Fury, the head of S.H.E.I.L.D, turned on his heels and stalked out.

"I think he's tired of dealing with that trickster." Steve sighed. He looked across the table. Banner, Stark and Thor sat opposite, with Romanoff and Barton next to him. 3AM was not a good time to hold meetings, he concluded. But was when Thor and Fury had arrived, everyone else already in Stark Tower, and Fury doesn't like to be kept waiting.

"We all are." Romanoff stayed facing forward despite her proximity.

That seemed to end the meeting. They all sat in silence as the information sunk in. An alarm went off, a small sound from how high up they were. Stark got up to stand.

"JARVIS?"

"It appears to be a robber." Was the instant reply.

"I'll deal with them, then sleep…" Stark stalked out of the conference room. Rogers followed.

"Might as well follow. I won't sleep."

Banner shrugged, looking to the two assassins as he got up and made to leave as well.

Finally, Romanoff and Barton got up. Thor stayed seated, head in his hands as the two made their way out into the hallway. When the Asgardian didn't follow, Clint stopped in the doorframe to offer him a nod.

"Hey, you okay hammer guy?"

No response, and Natascha took Barton's arm as a few moments passed and took him off, to leave Thor by himself, alone in the room.

Though he wasn't alone.

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Music: watch?v=cib4dTwhpvA&

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"You know me well."

Loki's disembodied voice cut through the ambient quiet of the room. Thor folded his arms and looked up, the room still seemingly empty.

"Show yourself, brother."

"As you say." Loki appeared head-first, a golden outline tracing his features and fading to reveal him. He wore a black suit, green scarf and tie. He held that smile, that sneer even.

"You're quite a sight to see yourself. Tired. Upset. What does Odin think of you? You can't even bring your brother home after he _failed_."

Thor took a long moment to reply.

"Odin has not punished me. He knows I played no part in your escape. I still have to bring you home."

"Home? Asgard isn't my home. Jotunheim will never be. You've deprived me of a true home, _brother_." Loki spoke with malice, his smirk fading a little as he continued, adopting an almost sad face.

"In fact, you've ruined my last plan. Destroyed my allies and-"

"I am tired of _you_, brother!"

Thor slammed his hands onto the table, and instantly drew them back a bit. "Of your running. You know Frigga misses you. This entire misadventure has been childish."

"Childish, like your love for the mortal? Wasn't it- wasn't its name Jane Foster?"

Loki curled his lips and exposed white teeth in triumph, seeing his brother sit up as if physically hurt. His tone had been practised and merciless. The God of Lies leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head.

Oh, it had made Thor mad, and that pleased him more than anything.

"You insulted her."

"Inherently. Were you not listening? I was even thinking about taking her-"

"I'm sorry, brother."

"Hmm?"

Loki didn't seem to even care Thor was boiling in anger in his seat. Though that didn't last, and Thor launched himself forward over the table at Loki. For a moment Loki's expression bore a smug tone before he froze. Thor landed in an empty chair, grasping nothing but air as he and the chair toppled. The illusion that was now around the God of Thunder faded into thin air with a distinctive golden glow.

"You fell for it. Again. It's barely been a week and already you're repeating yourself." Loki's voice chimed.

Thor roared as he scrambled up and flipped over the table with a crash.

For the next five minutes Thor overturned the room, going through everything. He knew Loki would be watching, he would only have to find him and then they could both go home.

It would be in vain. Loki had disappeared. Thor was about to lift the table as he realized this, and simply fell to his knees and stared at the carnage he had created instead. There were papers everywhere. A window had been smashed, and some file cabinets had been twisted and dented.

Loki had known exactly what he was going to end up doing.

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Music: watch?v=JaEu4kAWhQQ&

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Stark and Rogers had rushed up to find Thor after the noise. There had been no robber. Thor was still on his knees, tough he got up and set the table back on its legs when he noticed the two watching. The atmosphere itself seemed to tell the story.

"What happened? …Was it Loki?" Rogers queried.

"He has gone now. But he was here. He knew that we were having a meeting. He probably knew what we had said."

Thor got up, and walked over to the two. Stark slung an arm around him.

"Don't worry. Everyone's pretty much safe and I can look at the security cameras in the morning."

"Loki had some nerve coming here." Rogers grinned in an attempt to cheer Thor up. However Stark knew what to say.

"Yeah. I propose a 3AM Bar-party-for-awesome-people? I'd get shwarma but the place is shut."

"_Yes_." Thor replied without hesitation.

"Let's go get Barton."

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Music: watch?v=TfyncpPDKJE&

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Thor had a tankard. A tankard! Stark didn't even know he owned one. All the same, Thor noisily slammed it down onto the bar with a booming kind of laughter, and Stark slid around the bar to pour him more.

"You people! You drink so little yet fall and topple so easily!" Thor slapped the back of Barton next to him, who found himself winded by the act. Thor was… fine, really. Rogers not so much, but Stark and Barton had completely gone overboard and were right now what could be classed as 'piss-drunk'.

"Yeah, but… but you're an Asgardian guy right-" Stark hiccupped. "Right- I'd love to see you down two tequila bottles and four vodka shots in two days… Maybe a vodka martini and a suit, ha!"

Banner and Romanoff didn't get sleep that night. That was due to the fact that Thor's laughter once again carried down several floors, and woke up anyone who even dared shut their eyes.

"I do not get the reference friend, but funny it is still!"

"Damn right it is!" Rogers raised his glass, to down the rest of his drink as they all laughed. To be honest it wasn't that funny. But Loki had been forgotten, and the early Sunday morning was spent in a drunken stupor for the three guys and a tipsy daze for Thor. Eventually Barton called it quits, and stumbled over to the elevator, riding it down to his room, though he went and slept next door, in Romanoff's room. Stark refused to be beaten by Thor and ended up passing out curled up on the bar. Thor himself had drunk the last of his fifth tankard of beer before he felt tired enough to want to sleep. It had been a great early morning.

However, when Pepper finally woke them up at around 2 in the afternoon, Stark would come to decide that the '3AM Bar-party-for-awesome-people' wasn't a good idea after all.

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Music: watch?v=Z_YfMmWMX-w&

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For someone who usually didn't partake in combat save for the time she was suited up as Rescue -and the occasional hard-hitting handbag swing- which is very difficult to pull off correctly, Pepper Potts demonstrated an amazing ability to drag both Stark and Rogers out of bed to go with the others. She didn't bother with Barton. Romanoff would make sure he woke up- though they probably wouldn't actually come down from their rooms until dinnertime.

"Everything's bigger in Asgard? Did you actually flip the whole table over then, too?" Banner was talking to Thor, both seated at the table in the kitchen. Thor's bowl of salad looked far too small for him.

"And all the food on it, my friend! Your people would say that the look on Fandral's face was worth more than anything! A moment to surely remember."

"Was he shocked?"

"Shocked? Yes, and slightly amazed too. He became jealous that I got to flip the table and not he- he later swore to me he possessed the strength to do what I had done!"

Banner chuckled. "You sound very different to who you are now."

"Indeed I have changed, for the better!"

Banner was about to ask another question when Captain America walked in. Steve Rogers did not feel like Captain America. His headache attested to that. He walked around to Thor and Banner and plonked himself down into a chair.

Banner took one look at him and struggled not to laugh. Rogers pinched the bridge of his nose and promptly ignored him until the amusement died down.

"Is Stark up yet?"

"I think Pepper's doing that now." Banner nodded to Steve. "She worries about him a lot."

"She should do. He's reckless. I'm surprised he didn't kill himself with the amount of alcohol he drunk this morning. He hasn't got my or his-" He tilted his head toward Thor. "His resistance to the stuff. As it is I have a headache…"

Knock knock.

The three were torn from their conversation as another sharp rap sounded against the door. Thor stood.

"Do not worry, I will get the door-" Pepper descended the stairs and rushed past the Thunder God, to open the door and come face-to-face with two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The one on the left started first.

"Pepper Potts."

"Yes." She had already switched to business-mode.

"Are you aware that Loki Laufeyson broke in las-"

"Yes."

"Have the Avengers watched the secu-"

"No."

"It would be in your best interest to let us watc-"

"Of course. Come in and wait."

Banner, Thor and now Rogers were watching the exchange. Efficient, would be the word that stuck in Roger's head, as Pepper lead them in and shut the door.

One of the agents muttered to the other, something along the lines of 'I told you so.'

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Music: watch?v=5IZtK2I31gA&

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"I told you it was Loki!"

Stark pointed at the screen, standing a step in front of the crowd of agents and heroes. Thor chuckled and replied.

"If you remember, it was I who told you."

"…Right."

They were watching the camera at the entrance to Stark Tower, overlooking the street it sat upon. The God of Lies was easily recognisable in his green and black suit. He was closing the distance to the tower in a fast walk.

"Look at the time-stamp on the camera." Romanoff pointed out.

1.23AM.

Loki's gaze on the camera shifted from the tower to the camera itself; smiling –almost seeming as if at that point he knew the group would be looking at him. Then he waved, and disappeared into what was definitely invisibility.

"There's nothing more on camera until Loki appears to Thor," Stark moved to a computer as the large screen shifted through cameras viewpoints. "That's almost 2 hours. Loki had been snooping around my tower for 2 hours." He tapped a few things on his computer, picking up a holo-pad-thing and messing with that for a few moments.

"Nothing on infra-red?" Banner joined Stark to look at the computer.

"What is that?" Thor asked Banner, almost cutting in.

"Heat-vision. The cameras can see heat."

Thor shook his head. "He would be invisible there too. He is a Jotun, naturally cold."

"Gamma radiation?" The two scientists looked at each other. Stark held a look of confusion, Banner one of triumph.

"Bruce, is that even possible?"

"With sensors, yes. Once I have some gamma sensors, I can distribute them within the tower and be able to detect others which I won't have a signature for. Coincidentally I'll need just that- Gamma radiation signatures from everyone. Everyone's very slightly radioactive; the sensors only need to recognize the tiny amounts and patterns each person gives off."

The main screen had finally switched to everyone leaving the conference room except Thor. They watched in silence as the scene played out; Loki appearing with hands behind his head, the events of early morning repeating themselves as Thor dived over the table in anger.

"Hold up!" Stark had leant over his desk to grab the remote and freeze the video, standing upright then and just waiting there. Barton decided to open his mouth.

"Hey Stark, what's-"

"Shh. Ideas moment."

The group watched in silence as Stark spun in a circle on his heels, and then were promptly being pushed aside by the man with the idea.

"JARVIS, get a diagram up on the main screen of Stark Tower, and map all moderate air pressure changes last night from 1AM until 4AM."

The screen blanked before the tower drew itself onto the flat surface, every room lit up in orange or red. Romanoff facepalmed.

"Um, exclude air con and any changes that take longer than a minute."

JARVIS redrew itself at Stark's command, most of the tower now as blue as the background. But there were clear paths from room to room now. There were paths were people left the conference room and went to their rooms- or the bar. Paths where Nick Fury and Thor had come in and gone to the conference room. And a third path, one that wandered through the tower, and finally came across the labs and weapon rooms, and the armoury. Then finally it went up to the conference room, after Thor and Fury.

"…That's bad." Banner nodded.

"He… Hmm. JARVIS?"

"Nothing was taken. The alarms would have gone off if Loki Laufeyson had taken anything."

Stark took a moment to think it through.

"Check again."

There was suspense, a tingle in the air as a moment, two, three passed. No response. But then JARVIS' voice came up again.

"Nothing has been stolen."

"Then what the hell was he-"

"Scouting, Stark." Romanoff interjected. "He will probably plan a raid on the building. Or destroy the technology and try to sabotage your business."

"It's doubtful he came in for cookies and milk." Barton added.

"We should prepare for a raid, then." Rogers nodded.

The two S.H.E.I.L.D agents separated themselves from the rest of the group, one of them shutting a phone. The other one spoke first.

"Nick Fury has requested that S.H.I.E.L.D. move Erik Selvig, Darcy and Jane Foster to Stark Tower."

"Why- shit no- Why on earth would you guys need to do that?" Stark shifted into a I'm-not-letting-more-crazy-people-into-my-tower mode.

"There have been a lot of electromagnetic disturbances near her current residence and we have reason to believe it is due to a rogue super."

"She's not coming here." The supposed Iron Man folded his arms- only to be squished by Thor's bear-hug.

"Stark, friend! It would be a good thing to see her! I will offer to look after her if you cannot!"

The hug was crushing Stark. At least it felt like it, and he only managed a wheeze like a chew toy.

"Ahh, Bear-man, only if you let… go…"

"Certainly!" Thor released the hug and pulled away, almost jumping before his affection chooses Barton and hugs him instead.

"It would've happened anyway- That's how S.H.I.E.L.D. negotiates." Barton offered.

"I guess. There's no more badass security footage to look through, so we're all good right now. You two spy-agent people can leave now." Stark began to push the two normal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents towards the door of the lab, shutting the door to leave them outside.

"We have a plan to make. With lots of explosions." Stark said as he turned to face the group.

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**Aaaaaand that's the first chapter, all 3000 words finished. Remember to review!**


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